


The Curious Case of Diego Strex

by My_Own_Infinity



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Desert Bluffs, Diego is Desert Bluffs Carlos, Fluff, M/M, Strexcorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-20
Updated: 2014-11-20
Packaged: 2018-02-26 09:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2647613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Own_Infinity/pseuds/My_Own_Infinity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A forgotten birthday brings up insecurities and resentments that Diego thought he had buried for good. </p><p>Kevin, meanwhile, is absolutely clueless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Curious Case of Diego Strex

Meetings and meetings and meetings. Dreadful statistics, pointless formalities. Suits. Ties. Work.

It all sort of blurred together after awhile - who owed what, which rival business was threatening their stock - it was all so  _dull_. So mind-numbingly dull, and Diego was  _tired of it._ So it was with no small amount of relief that, at half-past eleven at night, Diego dragged himself through his front door and collapsed on his couch.  _Fucking **finally**_ , he thought as he closed his eyes. He didn’t even have the energy to walk to his bed. Turning onto his side to find a more comfortable position, he took a deep breath and began to sink down into some much-needed sleep.

_Thump._

Something lanky and giggling landed _hard_  on his legs, sending him jolting upright. “ _Son of a–_  Kevin.”

His boyfriend giggled again and leaned forward to peck Diego on the cheek. “’Morning, sleepyhead!”

“What–?” He looked at the clock. 11:45pm.  _Wonderful._  “Kevin, what are you doing in my apartment?”

“Well,” Kevin said, chipper as ever despite the lateness of the hour, “I was going to make you dinner as a surprise, but then you didn’t come home, and I thought–” His expression darkened for just a moment before snapping back to its usual sunny brightness. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. You’re home now, and I baked you a cake, and that’s what matters!” He tugged at one of Diego’s hands (which the engineer was convinced had been replaced with lead sometime during his fifteen minute nap), nearly wrenching it out of its socket in his excitement.

“Kevin – ow,  _fuck_  – Kevin- _W_ _ait,_  my darling.”

Diego toppled off the couch and onto the floor, Kevin’s grip never loosening. “Kevin,  _let me stand._ ” 

With a pout and an impatient sigh, the radio host waited just long enough for Diego to get on his feet before he was back to his semi-violent advance to the kitchen. “Ta-da!” he trilled proudly, finally letting go of Diego’s arm to gesture grandly at what Diego believed was supposed to be a cake.

The frosting was yellow and inconsistently spread across chocolate breading that looked a bit  _too_  dark. A mess of orange frosting spelled something that was likely intended to be Diego's name. The top layer sagged into the bottom, causing the entire thing to tilt precariously and the flames of over thirty candles to combine into one giant, sticky fire hazard.

“Do you love it?” his boyfriend asked softly, his face illuminated by the candles' glow. “Vanessa said that it was better to buy one, but I thought a birthday cake should be special.”

…A birthday cake?

_His birthday._

Diego walked closer to the table to reexamine the cake, and found that what he had thought was his name was actually a (very messily written) “happy birthday!!!!!" Diego had… He had been so busy working that he had forgotten his own birthday. Not that he was a particularly _sentimental_ man, but…there was something about this that sent a spark of…of  _hurt_  through his heart. “Thank you, Kevin,” he said, his voice catching.

“Mm-hmm,” was his boyfriend’s happy response. “You never told me how old you were, so I guessed.” He smiled. “Thirty-six candles – see? They didn’t want to fit, but I made them.”

Diego had to bite back the bitter laugh that sprang to his throat.  _Thirty-six_ candles. _What a joke._

Kevin, who had evidently been watching him closely, tilted his head until he resembled nothing less than a confused, overlarge puppy. “Diego? Are you alright? You look sad. You’re not supposed to be sad on your birthday.” He stepped close to the engineer and put a hand on either side of the other man’s face, using his thumbs to gently tug the corners of Diego’s mouth into a small smile. “Did I get the candles wrong? I’m sorry if I got the candles wrong.”

Diego smiled, genuinely this time, and turned his head to place a kiss on Kevin’s long fingers. “No, darling. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. It’s a wonderful birthday gift.” Inwardly, he attempted to shoo those pesky emotions away. If he had to, he’d deal with them later.

Grinning brightly, Kevin gave Diego a quick kiss, and then stepped back, stating expectantly at his lover. Diego raised an eyebrow at him. “What is it, darling?”

“Aren’t you going to eat it?”

Diego paused. “Ah…” He glanced at the flaming, toxic-looking cake, trying to conceal the fear in his eyes. “Maybe later, love. I’m a bit full right–”

“Eat the cake.”

He sighed. “All right, Kevin.”

“Yay!”

Slowly – tentatively – he picked up a fork and scooped up a piece of the birthday cake. It fell apart before he could bring the piece to his mouth. Kevin was still staring at him hopefully, so Diego steeled himself and quickly brought a new forkful between his lips.

It tasted like  _death._

The cake hadn’t even left the fork yet. It was just sitting in his mouth, foul against his tongue, but Diego knew that any attempt to chew or swallow was likely to trigger his gag reflex. For a moment, he considered just spitting the damn thing out.

“Well? Do you love it?” Kevin,  _damn him_ , was staring at him, eyes wide, biting his lip in hopeful anticipation. Why did he have to be so damn  _cute_?

With the air of a man condemned, Diego pulled the fork out of his mouth, swallowing as quickly as possible to avoid tasting the cake any more than he absolutely had to. “Yes, dear, it’s…fantastic, ” he choked out, barely resisting the urge to run to the sink and start chugging water.

Kevin let out a gleeful giggle and rushed to hug him. “Ooh, I knew it! I  _knew_  you would love it!”

Diego had to remind himself not to throw up. “Yes, yes, darling. Now, I would appreciate sleep.”

"But…" Kevin’s jubilance faltered slightly. "But it’s your  _birthday_. Don’t you want to celebrate?”

 _No._ In all honesty, Diego just wanted to  _fucking sleep._ He was overworked and tired and he did not want to think about- about his age. But he couldn’t say that to Kevin, of course, so instead he gave his lover a kiss on the cheek and said, “Tomorrow, love. We’ll celebrate tomorrow.”

**Author's Note:**

> Something I wrote for an rp blog of mine~
> 
> If you want to talk about cute science boyfriends, you can find my cecilos blog [here](http://www.wearereadyforwar.tumblr.com)! 
> 
> Diego belongs entirely to [videntefernandez.](http://www.videntefernandez.tumblr.com)


End file.
